When Apple first announced the M1, questions arose about the differences between it and the A14 chip which both share many architectural features and are both manufactured on TSMC's 5 nm process. Semiconductor analysis firm TechInsights has recently published die photos of the two processors and a summary of the changes.

The M1 features four high-performance Firestorm cores and four energy-efficient IceStorm cores for a total of eight CPU cores. The A14 only features six CPU cores with two high-performance Firestorm cores and four energy-efficient IceStorm cores. The M1 includes doubles the amount of GPU cores and DDR interfaces then found on the A14. The M1 also incorporates silicon not found on the A14 including the Apple T2 security processor and other controllers. These additions result in a die size 37% larger than the A14.